Sunday, January 29, 2012

I know, National Geographic is gonna hire me with all these animalier looks, but I just can't help loving it...so, ops, I did it again ! ;)
Yesterday I went to the movies to watch "Mission Impossible: Ghost protocol" only after completing my personal mission: buying a Prada bag I had been lusting for one entire week.
As always, I had a great pair of excuses to justify my purchase: celebrating the first year of this blog (thank all of you so much for your wishes !) and buying myself an anticipated Valentine's day present...it's really true...better than red roses there is...a red Prada bag ! ;)

In these pics I am wearing Urban Decay's new Super Saturated lipgloss pencil, I love it so much ! It's long wearing and the color is so vibrant. I am using the color Big Bang ;)

Valentine's day is getting near...and I know people have mixed feelings over this day...some love it, other dread it and think it's just a commercial operation !. What are your views on it ?. I do personally think of course a couple should try to be romantic everyday, not only on Valentine's day, but I like this day cause my name is Valentina and I have always celebrated it even when I was single, years ago !.
Now to me Valentine's day is just another chance to be as corny as I can be with my love, LOL.
Of course I haven't always been happily in love, so I remember the feeling I had when I was a single and just looking at all those heart shaped images and cheesy stuff made me a bit nauseaous...so...Here are my general tips for spending Valentine's day:

- If you are in a couple, spend your day with your loved one doing something you BOTH like...watch a movie, go for a walk, even something simple, cook a special dinner or go to a cozy restaurant, try to surprise your lover with something different
- If you are a single and you feel a bit low, engage in a bit of shopping, either offline or online...there's nothing bad in pampering yourself a bit, cause after all it's true you must love yourself first :)
You will be able to find special promotions for shopping online on a few websites...Romwe will hold a big promotion activity on Valentine’s Day (14thFeb). All items can save 30% from the regular price by inserting the following coupon code: V-day30%
- If you are a bit broke, you can spend the day reading a good book or just going out with other single friends or having your SPA day at home (nails, pedicure, scrub...)
- What about entering a few Valentine's Day Giveaways ? You might win something nice ! Hint: this blog is gonna have a Valentine's Giveaway starting next Wednesday, as soon as the winner from the Zeleb Giveaway will be announced ! ;)

Sweeties, don't forget to join my amazing Giveaway to win a fancy party dress by filling the rafflecopter form, you can read everything in this post !. You have time until the end of this month to enter !.

Friday, January 27, 2012

Time does passes by fastly...Today this blog is celebrating one year of blogging !. Exactly one year ago today, I launched this blog and was having my first, shy attempt of a post on blogspot.
I initially posted in my first language only, italian, but I soon started to blog also in english (by the way, thanks for overlooking my grammar mistakes !) and I started also to post the pictures of my outfits...for a person very privacy concerned like me it was a pretty unusual and new thing !.
In one year of blogging I've learned so many new things, met new extraordinary people and I keep learning every day. If this experience keeps being so positive it's mostly thanks to YOU, readers and followers, people commenting me and giving feedback. I used to keep a diary when I was a teenager, and also had scrapbooks with inspiring collages...but I kept all those things to myself, now it's so good to share them with other people from all over the globe and I am very thankful for each of my readers !.
Of course, there's no birthday without presents, and I will be launching a special birthday giveaway to thank my followers for being there for me, as soon as the Zeleb giveaway ends (by the way, the Zeleb giveaway to win a party dress is gonna end on Wednesday 1st February, so don't forget to join it ! Click here !).
You're welcome to follow this blog, as well as with Google Friend Connect, also on Facebook and with Bloglovin. I am happy if you follow me on Twitter and I have a brand new Tumblr that needs to interact with other Tumblr pages, so follow it with yours if you have a Tumblr and I won't forget to follow your Tumblr with mine, too ;-).

Note: Google Friend Connect is soon not gonna work anymore on non blogger hosted blogs, it's not this case but if you are already following this blog thru Google Friend Connect and I am following you too and you wanna add also Bloglovin and Facebook, just let me know you added this blog also on Bloglovin and Facebook and I will do it too.
Thanks again, sending a virtual slice of birthday cake to each one of you !.

Sunday, January 22, 2012

It's said a leopard can't change its spots to mean a person cannot truly change the way she/he is. I feel in a way, it's true even in fashion, I am sure it happens to most of you to keep being attracted to the same things.
I realized this even more when I noticed I have several leopard shoes in my shoe closet...I mean, it's not like black shoes or neutral color shoes, it's not something everyone would wear everyday, yet I have leopard loafers, leopard sneakers, and high heeled pumps in leopard print...If wearing leopard shoes is a crime, I do plead guilty !.

I think in spite of being really eye-catching, leopard printed shoes can go well with many outfits...So here they are, two outfits with two shoes of my (growing) leo-collection.
The first outfit is more romantic and elegant, with that mid lenght golden brown skirt bought online, the short cardi from Pinko and Paciotti shoes and the other one is bolder and suitable for everyday, with a simple burgundy Mango dress, blazer shaped cardigan from Carla G and leopard ankle boots.
Which one do you prefer ? I am curious to know :-). Would you wear leopard shoes and how ?.

Said that, this time of the year is a bit depressing when it comes to go out window shopping...I prefer lurking to new clothes online ! In the shops in town there are sales still and I need to see new things ! The only place I am happy to go to in these days is Sephora ! I've already bought a few things from new make up collection, here's my little haul.
I had already bought the Chanel June polish last week, the other things I've bought them yesterday and today instead. I am so in love with that Dior palette, can't wait to use it, even tho it's so beautiful that I already know I am gonna feel a bit guilty when I have to use it the first time !. The only item that is not from a new collection is the Dior lip polish, I bought it again cause I run out of it and I love it ;-) plus I think it matches Chanel's June quite well !.

Sweeties, don't forget to join my amazing Giveaway to win a fancy party dress by filling the rafflecopter form, you can read everything in this post !. You have time until the end of this month to enter !.

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Having a life is very time consuming ;). I think most of you will agree with me !. I very often wish my day lasted much more than 24 hours ! And if you are a blogger, you must have at least once felt guilty if neglecting your blog.
I have a full time job in an office and I like my job so much. It's the right dose of stability and also creativity. I spend a lot of time at the computer and yet, when I am at home and have got a bit of spare time, here I am, on the pc again. I know how time consuming surfin the net can be...I love to tweet so much, I check my e-mails, I visit my fave blogs, I try to reply to comments on my blog, I update my tumblr, check out my Facebook page, pick the photos for a post on my blog and when I do all of that the clock seems to go faster than usual !.
Besides all of this, I also have to find time for the house, the gym, seeing friends, spending quality time with love and family, watching all the tv series I am fond of (there's LOADS and the list keeps growing !) and, of course, practicing my favourit sport of all time...shopping !. Do you also feel like if time is never enough to do all you wanna do or it is just me ?.

Since I appreciate so much all the time my readers spend over my blog and I am happy to spend my time over some wonderful blogs, I wanna introduce you to a new feature of Fashion and Cookies...since the opening of this blog I've been receiving a few awards, the Versatile blogger Award, the Creative blogger award and some others that are very popular among the blogging community...well, I have decided to create a personal award from my blog, to be given from time to time to blogs I appreciate a lot for some special reasons - just to remember that having a successful blog doesn't mean having many followers, it means having quality posts and putting true passion in blogging. So, let me introduce you to the Cookie blog award ! The blogs tthat will receive this award will be linked on the post I make so that the others can visit them and if they accept it they'll be able to display it wherever they want with the code I will give them and also write down what is their fave fashion item and what is their fave kind of cookies :-P.
The blogs receiving the Cookie award today are...

Da Paura, Rachel's beautiful blog...she is creative, talented and I love her style and attitude ! She is american and she has a special relationship with my country, she's been living in Italy, check out her lovely blog !

Feast.Fashion.Faves, lovely blog from Amanda, she has such a sweet smile and loves food and shopping, her blog is an irresistable mixture of those !

Monday, January 16, 2012

Zeleb is a UK based fashion company specialising in ready to wear and made to measure evening, party, prom and bridal wear. They design and produce all their dresses in house with highly experienced couture sewers and pattern makers, and by controlling the full design and sewing process.
The Zeleb shopping website sells all over the world lovely elegant dresses, perfect for partying and for unleashing your inner diva ;). I think their designs are beautiful and there are also different kind of dresses that can make people with different tastes happy.
I have been offered the chance to organize a sponsored giveaway for the lovely followers of my blog, this means one of you will be able to win one of the 5 dresses you can see in the picture above (click to enlarge, there's also the code for each one if you wanna check on Zeleb website)! The giveaway starts NOW and you will only have to fill in the rafflecopter form, it's easy, and follow the rules that will be asked there step by step.

- Follow me on Twitter (+1)
- Tweet about the giveaway (+1)
- Like this post with Facebook (+1)
- Post on your blog about the giveaway (+2)

The winner will be announced on 1st February, deadline to this giveaway !. I will send the winner an e-mail and will ask for the code number of the chosen dress (one of the 5 dresses of the picture) and will send out the winner's e-mail and code of the dress to Zeleb. They will deliver it to the winner directly !. Good luck everyone !.

Sunday, January 15, 2012

Dear readers, today it's the 15th of January and this means it's the day to announce the 3 winners of my Romwe giveaway ! The winners are (selected randomly by rafflecopter.com) the following:

Congratulations Satu, Katarina and Laura ! Your e-mails have been sent to Romwe.com, they'll contact you directly to send you the prizes ! Thanks EVERYONE of you for taking part in the giveaway and I hope you'll enter the next one I am planning to be started VERY soon ! ;)

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Who doesn't like sequins ? Something with sequins should be in every girl's closet, in my opinion. I think they're so much fun and also they don't have to be worn on nights out only...so, when I learned that the latest challenge of Bloggers Do It Better was an outfit with sequins, I have decided to show you this sequin dress. I bought it a while ago, I remember entering a nice shop and falling in love with it straight away !.
In the pics I am fighting against the cold weather wearing it with cachemire turtleneck, heavy wool tights and a wool cardigan cause I was freezing (it was even snowing a bit !).
So, if you like something with sequins but you fear you won't have the chance to wear something that sparkly and you risk leaving it in the shop, my advice is go and get it, cause every day is a good day to sparkle !.

Don't forget you have time until 15th January to join this blog's New Year Romwe giveaway, 3 of you will win two pair of tights on your choice and 20 dollars of freebies from Romwe.com !.
Click here and fill the form to enter !. Mind you that even if you left a comment under the giveaway post you'll need to fill in the form anyway to be entitled to win !.

Thanks everyone for following this blog on Google Friend Connect ! Don't forget to follow me also on Fashion and Cookies Facebook page and if you also have a fb page leave a link on my fb wall so that I can follow it too. Follow also on Bloglovin and if you want come and say hi on Twitter :) !!!

Sunday, January 08, 2012

One of the hardest things in these days for me is surely taking Christmas tree down...not only cause surely decorating the tree is so much fun compared to having to store things back to boxes, but only cause it's the sign that all holidays are over and we have to go back to everyday life. I have to say I cannot complain about my holidays, I have spent a lovely time on the mountains and still got a few outfits from there to show you, like this one ! I am sporting a new cape with my brand new baby, a lovely Givenchy studded bag I got from my mum on Christmas (to my suggestion :D).

Another thing about this period is trying to enjoy sales without committing mistakes...sales have started in my country and since I am a big shopaholic and I buy A LOT throughout the entire year, I admit I don't have many rules about what to buy on sales, I buy what I like (if I can afford it, that is) - this is the simplest rule of all ! I just have a few "don't" about sales, here they are:

- don't buy something that is not flattering to your body just cause it's on sale ! I had found a lovely purple coat yesterday and it was my size but I prefer to see myself with a tighter kind of coat...that one was too large on the hips so even tho I wanted that coat for its lovely color and it was a bargain, I had to say "no"
- don't buy stuff that has "faults" only cause the price tag is cheaper...I see it happening more and more...even big names of fashion do sell shoes, clothes with evident firm faults such as missing studs, ripped parts, for a cheaper price. It doesn't work for me cause as a precise Virgo, I keep looking at the ruined part and it spoils the fun ! I don't think such stuff should be sold at all...at least, if the fault is really evident...and moreover the price isn't even as cheap as it should, so be aware !
- don't buy stuff that you don't really like only cause the seller is insisting to you...do as many crazy purchases you want to but the choice must be yours, if you think you look ugly with something but the seller or a friend says you should get it anyway you'll probably end up not wearing that, and you can use that money to buy something you REALLY like ;-) - remember fashion is a personal thing, it's a way to express yourself and not someone else's taste !
- don't buy imitations...inspired things yes but never go for replicas that are just so evidently cheap and tacky. I think a good no brand bag is surely better than a replica !And now, DO buy anything you like and, most important thing, DO have fun !!! :)

Thanks everyone for following this blog on Google Friend Connect ! Don't forget to follow me also on Fashion and Cookies Facebook page and if you also have a fb page leave a link on my fb wall so that I can follow it too. Follow also on Bloglovin and if you want come and say hi on Twitter :) !!!

Wednesday, January 04, 2012

Just a quick giveaway post :), Romwe is giving the chance to 3 followers of my blog to win two pair of tights (you will choose them) from their website and also a $20 voucher each ! So why not trying ? I am using a form this time, it's very simple, you'll be asked to enter via facebook or just by leaving your name and e-mail. Basically there are only 3 mandatory things to do: like this blog's facebook page, register on romwe.com (it takes only one minute !) and leave the same e-mail address in the form and follow Fashion and Cookies on Bloglovin ! You have time until 15th January, 3 of you will win ! Good luck ! And please notice that only the people entering the form will be entitled to win !.

Sunday, January 01, 2012

It's the first day of 2012 and I couldn't help but making a little post to wish all of you a fantastic new year, full with anything you desire !.
I am still enjoying the few days left of my holidays on the mountains, we finally had snow and I was so excited, I had to leave the comfort of my room and go out immediately ! I finally had the chance to wear my new Moncler jacket, it's so comfy ! I am a such a Moncler fan and I own quite a few jackets from this brand, they're very warm and good quality.

And now, for a control freak like me, here's a little list of new year resolutions...
1. Going back to the gym - this is a must do and I will sign up next week and go 3 times per week
2. Eat more healthy...lately I've been eating too many sweets, fried things and junk food...say bye bye to french fries !!!
3. Trying to catch some sleep before one o'clock am...as I often do...then in the morning I feel so sleepy ! I've been sleeping for much more these days and I can see the results on my face and skin :)
4. Drink more water...I love beer, wine, coke, lemonade...but why don't I feel thirsty enough to drink at least one liter and a half of water daily ?
5. Give up on the people that don't deserve my time and attention and focus on the people that truly care for me...friendship is like love, they both don't work one way...
I would have more resolutions but these ones are enough already, I think ! :) Now I am curious to know your own resolutions for this new year !

Thanks everyone for following this blog on Google Friend Connect ! Don't forget to follow me also on Fashion and Cookie's Facebook page and if you also have a fb page leave a link on my fb wall so that I can follow it too. Follow also on Bloglovin and if you want also on Twitter :) !!!
Stay tuned cause I've decided to launch my second giveaway at the end of this week ;)